Cabin Fever
by Midorino Mizu
Summary: Subaru has a job in Morioka. Kamui comes along. Nokoru is a manipulative evil genius.
1. Chapter 1

Cabin Fever  
  
An X fanfiction by Midorino Mizu  
  
Disclaimer: No, I don't own X. If, however, CLAMP would like to cede it over to me, I'd be happy to actually /write/ it. Unlike some mangaka I could mention.  
  
Chapter One  
  
Subaru sighed as he stared at the fax in his hand. At least it had been a quiet week -there shouldn't be any problems there.  
  
All the same, he felt a little apprehensive about this particular job. A small shrine in the foothills of the Du Mountains, not terribly far from Morioka, was having some problems.  
  
They were relatively minor spiritual issues, Subaru noted as he skimmed over his grandmother's description again. Nothing that would call for the Clan Head's skill. Either of the other two talented onmyouji in the family, Hiroshi or Sakiko, would have been able to handle it.  
  
Apparently, the elderly priestess of the shrine had some pull. She wanted the Sumeragi Head, and she would get the Sumeragi Head.  
  
But first he had to explain the situation to Imonoyama-san. His departure would leave a hole, however brief it was, and would weaken the Seals position. It would make them vulnerable.  
  
As the man who had taken it upon himself to shelter them all, Imonoyama Nokoru would have to know.  
  
As he raised his hand to knock at the Chairman's door, Subaru looked fondly back at the years before this one.  
  
When he had been perfectly free to leave Tokyo without informing anyone.  
  
But that, along with everything else, had changed when 1999 began.  
  
***  
  
"Rijichou," sighed Takamura Suoh in exasperation. "Are you going to do any work today?"  
  
Nokoru merely pressed his steepled fingers to his lips and stared off at something neither Suoh nor Akira could see.  
  
The CLAMP Campus treasurer and secretary looked at each other, deeply concerned. It was rare that Imonoyama Nokoru wore that particular expression.  
  
He only wore it when he was in the midst of plotting something particularly devious.  
  
They could only hope that they weren't directly involved.  
  
Suddenly, a brilliant smile broke through on Nokoru's face, and his eyes gleamed.  
  
"Akira," he said warmly.  
  
The treasurer gulped. "Ah, yes, Rijichou? Is there something you needed me to do?"  
  
"Yes, Akira," continued Nokoru in the same warm tones. "I need you to fix a picnic basket. A large one, I think."  
  
Akira blinked. Of all the possible requests that he had enumerated in his head, that had not been counted among the likely possibilities. "A-A picnic basket? But Rijichou, it's February." He quickly glanced out the window, where icy winds could be seen blowing across the Campus.  
  
When Nokoru had taken over management of CLAMP Campus, he had decreed that the advanced heating and cooling systems that scientists had developed years before only be utilized indoors. CLAMP students should, he had rationalized, be able to experience the beauty of the four seasons like everyone else in Japan.  
  
So now they did. This included the frigid weather of late winter.  
  
Suoh's lips twitched as he saw the wild-eyed look Akira had shot at him. He cleared his throat. "I'm afraid I must agree with Akira in this instance, Rijichou. It is much too cold out for a picnic. Not to mention," he continued, casting a baleful glance at the mountainous pile of paperwork currently overwhelming Nokoru's desk. "You have far too much work to do."  
  
Nokoru smiled serenely. "Don't worry, Suoh, the basket isn't for us." He tilted his head and addressed his treasurer. "I think we will need the basket fairly soon, Akira."  
  
"Oh, of course, Rijichou. I'll get to work on it."  
  
Suoh turned to watch Akira, as with brow furrowed, he disappeared from the office and toward the kitchens. Then he turned back to Nokoru.  
  
To his surprise, he saw him dutifully applying his stamp to papers that had been needing it for the past week.  
  
"Rijichou," he began, and then frowned when the Imonoyama didn't even look up.  
  
Suoh had never thought he would see the day when Nokoru would use paperwork as an avoidance tactic.  
  
"Nokoru," he gritted out, reverting to his Chosen's rarely used given name. He almost smiled when the blond head jerked up.  
  
"Yes, Suoh?"  
  
"If you aren't planning an absurd picnic for the three of us, then who are your chosen victims?"  
  
Nokoru's eyes took on a familiar gleam. "Oh, you'll find out, Suoh. In due time."  
  
Takamura opened his mouth to protest and then snapped it shut and sighed. He had known Imonoyama Nokoru since he was seven years old, and he knew him better than anyone else in the world.  
  
He knew when he wasn't going to get any more information out of his closest friend.  
  
As he sat down to get started on his own paperwork, Suoh couldn't help but to send a prayer for whoever was about to become the recipient of Nokoru's goodwill.  
  
They were going to need it, that was for certain.  
  
***  
  
Sumeragi Subaru knocked lightly on the door, and stepped inside once he heard Imonoyama-san's cheerful tenor voice call out.  
  
"Sumeragi-san," smiled Nokoru. "Did you need to speak to me about something?"  
  
Subaru nodded slightly, but his eyes narrowed a bit. He didn't particularly care for the expression in the Rijichou's blue eyes. It was too guileless to be believed.  
  
"Yes, Imonoyama-san." Subaru met Nokoru's eyes directly. "I'm afraid that I have a new job coming up-one that will take me out of Tokyo for a few days."  
  
Nokoru was silent for a moment, and then nodded to himself, as if he was considering the notion. "I don't think that should be a problem, Sumeragi- san. An unavoidable circumstance, but I feel sure that the other Seals will be able to handle it if something should.occur."  
  
Subaru nodded, and was about to turn and walk out the door, when the Imonoyama spoke again.  
  
"I do have a favor to ask you, however."  
  
Subaru lifted twin black eyebrows. "A favor, Imonoyama-san?" Subaru could feel all his senses jump to life, flashing warning signs every which way. "What is it?"  
  
Nokoru smiled sunnily. "I wonder if you would take Kamui with you."  
  
Subaru was noticeably startled. Of all the requests he had considered as possibilities, this had not been one of them. "Won't he be needed here? In case a kekkai should be attacked?"  
  
The Rijichou inclined his head. "I thought of that, but there will still be five Seals available to handle things." He paused, and his eyes darkened slightly. "And I'm afraid that if he doesn't get away from Tokyo for a little while, he'll break.  
  
"That would be disastrous, don't you agree, Sumeragi-san?"  
  
Subaru nodded in acquiescence. "If you are sure, Imonoyama-san, then I have no problems. I will be glad of the company."  
  
"Good," said Nokoru. "I've taken the liberty of having a car packed with the necessities for you." He dropped an ignition key in Subaru's hand.  
  
Subaru stared down at it, and then sighed.  
  
When he left the Rijichou's chambers, it was with the knowledge that he had been maneuvered.  
  
***  
  
Kamui wasn't expecting anyone at this time of day-Sorata had late afternoon tutoring sessions, Yuzuriha disappeared from campus as soon as her classes were over for the day, and Arashi preferred to take advantage of the quiet, and kept to her room.  
  
Subaru, for his part, was usually away from the Campus until fairly late in the evening, although his schedule was a little more flexible than the others. If he wasn't away from the Campus, then he, too, liked to spend his free time in solitude.  
  
With the notable exceptions of Sorata and Yuzuriha, the Seals were really an unsociable bunch.  
  
So when the knock came at the door, Kamui was a little startled. He'd gotten used to his routine.  
  
Kamui stood and went to his bedroom door.  
  
Subaru stood on the other side.  
  
"Hello, Subaru-san." Kamui paused, expecting Subaru to speak. When he didn't, the teenager continued, a little awkwardly. "Is there something you needed me for?"  
  
Subaru inclined his head gracefully, but a faint line of color appeared on his cheeks. He was usually very observant, but hadn't been paying attention when Kamui had opened the door. "Ah, yes, Kamui. I wanted to let you know that I've received a job that will take me out of Tokyo for a few days. I'll be up near Morioka."  
  
Shirou Kamui visibly drooped at that announcement, and Subaru's lips twitched slightly at the sight.  
  
"Imonoyama-san suggested that you might like to come along."  
  
Kamui stared at Subaru for a moment before nodding in assent.  
  
"I'd love to, Subaru-san. When will we be leaving?"  
  
"In a couple of hours," said the Sumeragi. "So you had best get packed."  
  
Kamui nodded again, and stood in the doorway until well after Subaru had disappeared into his own room.  
  
He certainly didn't mind going with Subaru up north, spending a few days alone with him, but it was rather curious that Imonoyama-san had suggested it.  
  
After all, it was Thursday afternoon, which meant Kamui would be gone for classes on Friday and Saturday.  
  
Personally, he didn't care, but Imonoyama-san usually did. He'd been known to lecture Kamui about his propensity towards skipping class rather vehemently.  
  
So the Imonoyama suggesting that he should go off with Subaru for a quiet weekend was strange. Perhaps he realized that Kamui needed a break.  
  
But perhaps there was an ulterior motive. He'd once heard Takamura-san mutter that Rijichou always had one.  
  
Kamui didn't really have much experience with this sort of thing, being an only child, and a loner, but he had the feeling that he was being involved with a plot.  
  
***  
  
Subaru quietly announced their plans to the rest of the Seals at dinner that night, and it was met with scant objection.  
  
Arashi was the only one who voiced any concerns, but that was to be accepted. The shrine maiden was quiet, but she was stubborn, and she had very firm ideas of what Kamui's priorities should be.  
  
Nonetheless, even her protests were half-hearted, as if she was also aware that the stress of their collective situation might cause her Kamui to break before the Final Day if he wasn't given some time to rebuild his emotional shields.  
  
She also realized that the Sumeragi was good for him.  
  
So the two Seals went to bed early that night, and rose early the next morning, though not before Arashi, Sorata, and Yuzuriha went off to their classes.  
  
The mansion was quiet as they ate their breakfast, and Subaru harbored some hope that they might be able to depart the Campus unnoticed.  
  
He should have known better.  
  
When he and Kamui went out the front door, and turned in the direction of the garage where he assumed their borrowed car was waiting, they were flagged down by the Council.  
  
Ijyuin Akira was holding a massive picnic basket, and Takamura Suoh was standing next to him, leaning against the hood of a blue, mid-sized SUV, and looking rather disgruntled.  
  
That was, reflected the Sumeragi, quite normal for the ninja.  
  
Imonoyama Nokoru was also there, standing next to Suoh, and smiling angelically.  
  
He was at his most dangerous when he was smiling angelically, as anyone with any experience dealing with him already knew.  
  
Since both Subaru and Kamui lived under his roof, the sight of his smile made mild trickles of fear travel down their spines.  
  
"The forecast called for snow up in Morioka this weekend," explained Nokoru to the two silent males in front of him. "So I took the liberty of changing your vehicle. I do apologize for any inconvenience, Sumeragi- san."  
  
"Not at all," murmured Subaru. "Thank you for seeing to it, Imonoyama- san."  
  
"It was my pleasure," the blond returned. He dropped the keys in Subaru's hand and pocketed the set the Sumeragi returned to him. "Have a good journey."  
  
Subaru nodded absently, and climbed into the car, placing Akira's picnic basket carefully in the backseat. He waited until Kamui had settled himself into the passenger seat before he started the car and drove forward.  
  
They had reached the end of the Imonoyama Mansion drive before Kamui spoke.  
  
"Does it strike you," asked the younger boy, "that Imonoyama-san would have made a superb evil genius?"  
  
Subaru flicked a glance at the leader of the Seals and his lips twitched in a small smile.  
  
"What makes you think he isn't one?"  
  
They both chuckled weakly as the car drove out of CLAMP Campus.  
  
Neither one of them noticed the man in the black overcoat leaning against a nearby lamppost.  
  
He watched the vehicles progress until it had disappeared from sight, then an amused smile curved his lips.  
  
"You never took me on vacation, Subaru-kun," he murmured.  
  
"We shall have to remedy that oversight." 


	2. Chapter 2

Cabin Fever  
  
An X fanfiction by Midorino Mizu  
  
Chapter 2  
  
The drive north was mostly uneventful. Subaru and Kamui engaged in small talk, and studiously avoided discussing the situation they had left behind in Tokyo.  
  
Even though a job wasn't really an escape, it was a duty; the two Seals unconsciously treated it as most people treated their vacations. Conversation was kept light, and "work," was not discussed.  
  
There was only one awkward moment, when Kamui asked Subaru when he learned how to drive.  
  
A broken expression flitted across the Sumeragi's face before he replied, and Kamui immediately regretted the question.  
  
Subaru was his friend, after all. He had so few left, and he didn't want to hurt the ones he had.  
  
It was painfully obvious that his question had brought back memories for the Sumeragi. The unhappy sort.  
  
One of the things that had drawn the two of them to each other, in Kamui's opinion, was the fact that their memories were similarly tragic, and had served to mold them into the people they had become.  
  
He turned his head to look out the window. The skies had darkened shortly after they had left the city, and it had begun to snow.  
  
"I'm sorry, Subaru-san," Kamui said, leaning his forehead against the glass. "I shouldn't have asked you that."  
  
"No, Kamui, it's all right. I learned," Subaru continued, "when I was seventeen, so that I could get a license when I turned eighteen. I had to take on all of the Clan Head duties then, and needed a flexible method of transportation.  
  
"I stayed in Tokyo, for the most part, though, so I don't use the skill very often. Just for jobs like these, that are in fairly remote locations," Subaru finished with a small smile.  
  
"I see," said Kamui. He smiled a little, and turned his head to look at Subaru. "Cars aren't terribly useful in the cities; they weren't even that widespread in Okinawa. Everyone had motorcycles, instead.  
  
"I wanted one, when I first moved there with my mother. I think she was horrified by the idea."  
  
Subaru chuckled softly, and Kamui's shoulders sagged a little from relief. He didn't talk much about his six years in Okinawa, because the memories of those years were in some ways as painful as the memory of his years in Tokyo. He spoke, because he'd hoped that his story might loosen the tight atmosphere.  
  
It appeared to have been a success.  
  
The remainder of the drive passed in companionable silence. The only sounds were the rumble of the engine and the muted murmur of the voices on the radio.  
  
The car's occupants were perfectly content with that.  
  
***  
  
Morioka was far from Tokyo, a long drive of winding roads, and as a result, it was twilight by the time they arrived at the small shrine outside the city.  
  
Kamui had caught Subaru casting wary glances at something in the rearview mirror several times, but whenever he glanced back himself, he never saw anything unusual.  
  
By the time they arrived at the well-kept shrine, Kamui was on the verge of asking his older friend, but instead had to try to be polite and charming to the elderly priestess who met them at the gates.  
  
Funabashi Katsuko was tall for a Japanese woman, and still slim, despite her age. She had sharp, shrewd gray eyes, and reminded Kamui of nothing else so much as an active grandmother. The sort that didn't necessarily shower you with gifts and attention, but who you liked all the same.  
  
Not that Kamui had any experience with an extended family of any sort; he barely had experience with family at all.  
  
But he liked to imagine.  
  
"Ah, Sumeragi-san," said Funabashi-san in a gravelly voice. "I am glad you could come up to help me with this problem; it has been a bit of a nuisance lately."  
  
"It was no trouble, Funabashi-san," returned Subaru smoothly. "Now, if you could show me." he began.  
  
"Absolutely not," the priestess interrupted. Subaru blinked at her, and Kamui decided he really was starting to like Funabashi Katsuko. Very few people tried to delay the Sumeragi when he was set on completing a task.  
  
There was something about that quiet, unassuming personality that made people leap to do his bidding, it seemed.  
  
"I can't allow you to do anything tonight; not after such a long trip. You can do it in the morning.  
  
"Meanwhile," she added with a smile. "Dinner is getting cold, and I'm sure your companion is getting hungry." She shifted her gaze to Kamui, and he realized he hadn't bothered to introduce himself yet.  
  
"Shirou Kamui," he said a little gruffly, ducking his head to hide his blush. He hated it when he embarrassed himself.  
  
"Ah," said Katsuko. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Shirou-kun. Won't you both come inside?"  
  
The house, thought Kamui as he trailed after Funabashi-san and Subaru, was small and traditional on the inside as well, but it had a warm, lived in feeling.  
  
Kamui liked it.  
  
"It would be helpful, Funabashi-san," Subaru was saying, "If you could explain a little more about the nature of the problem. Even if I'm not to work on it tonight." This was said with a rather pointed look. "I will need more information so I can prepare."  
  
Funabashi Katsuko chuckled at that. "Naturally, Subaru-san," she said with an amused shake of her head. "And we will discuss it over dinner. Don't be impatient," she advised.  
  
Katsuko gave the Sumeragi a critical sidelong glance and shook her head at him. "And you certainly could use a good dinner," she complained. "You look even slimmer than you did as a teenager. And Shirou-kun is nearly as bad," she added, pinning Kamui with a cool gray stare. "Honestly, don't people eat in Tokyo?"  
  
Kamui shrugged helplessly and shoved down the amused grin that threatened to break through. The entire situation was incredibly funny, in his opinion; he hadn't ever met anyone who had dared to harangue Subaru like a worried mother before.  
  
He didn't think that Subaru had dealt with anyone like this, either; at least not for many years now.  
  
The Sumeragi had been reduced to quiet sighs and nods now, Kamui noticed. The older woman was completely dominating the conversation.  
  
It wasn't surprising, really. Subaru wasn't the type to contradict someone from an earlier generation, if they didn't initially accept his dictates. With an assertive woman like Funabashi Katsuko, he was relegated to a more passive position.  
  
It was likely his upbringing by his matriarch of a grandmother that caused this, Kamui thought. Respect for elders was probably an irrevocable part of the Sumeragi's personality.  
  
Kamui smirked a little as he crossed the threshold into the dining area. That wasn't something his mother had ever bothered to drum into him. She hadn't taken the time for such innocuous lessons as that.  
  
There were more important things to learn.  
  
A shiver suddenly ran down Kamui's spine and he froze where he stood, narrowing his violet eyes. He looked behind him, but he saw nothing. Only the hallway they had just walked through, and a window.  
  
Still, he could feel something watching them, and it felt familiar.  
  
"Is something the matter, Shirou-kun?" asked Funabashi-san. She gave him an expectant look, and he wondered just how long he had been standing there.  
  
"Ah, no," he said. "I must have been.thinking."  
  
Funabashi-san wrinkled her brow, and opened her mouth to interrogate the teenager, when Subaru forestalled her with a hand on her arm.  
  
"Don't worry about it, Funabashi-san," he said with a quiet smile. "Kamui tends to do that kind of thing, sometimes. It is of no matter."  
  
When Subaru's cool green eyes met Kamui's violet ones, they were calm, quiet, and watchful, and Kamui suddenly knew what was behind the watching he felt.  
  
Sakurazukamori.  
  
He and the Sumeragi would have to have a discussion about this, Kamui thought. But not now.  
  
Later.  
  
***  
  
Dinner was a fairly painless affair. Both Subaru and Kamui were fairly quiet during the entire thing, and Funabashi-san had filled in the silence with her own words for a while, before allowing her guests to retire for the evening, in their separate rooms.  
  
Kamui waited fifteen minutes before knocking on Subaru's door. He thought he showed excellent restraint.  
  
Subaru looked up when the door slid open. "I expected you ten minutes ago," he said dryly. "You must be becoming more patient."  
  
Kamui didn't answer the other Seal, instead staring him down with cold purple eyes.  
  
Subaru sighed. "Sit down, Kamui. I'm sure you have a couple of questions." He put away the ofuda he had been working with and met the teenager's gaze. "Please understand that I only kept silent because I didn't want you to get hurt."  
  
Kamui huffed out a breath and ran a slim hand through his unruly brown hair. "I know that, Subaru-san," he said. "But I need to know these things, and I'm perfectly capable of handling the Sakurazukamori."  
  
His eyes were not so cold any longer, and his lips twitched in something that was almost a smile. "I have done so before, you know."  
  
Subaru smiled ruefully. "I know, Kamui," he said. "But I still want to protect you from him, if possible.  
  
"He is very cruel," Subaru continued. "I know that you've known cruelty.but Seishirou-san's cruelty is subtle. It digs like small, sharp knives for years, and you don't deserve to be subjected to that."  
  
Subaru's eyes darkened, and he looked away.  
  
Kamui probably understood what he was talking about better than anyone else could; he had seen what Seishirou had done to Subaru, after all, and he had experienced that kind of cataclysmic loss himself. But not even Kamui could fully understand what it had done to the Sumeragi.  
  
The deliberate betrayal that he had experienced nine years before had done something to him; he was a vastly different person from the one he could have been.  
  
Subaru wanted to protect Kamui from that. He wanted Kamui to be able to fully realize his own potential.  
  
At the same time, Subaru thought with a slow, sad smile, Kamui's potential was already stunted by what Fate had determined he would be.  
  
He finally broke the silence. "He probably won't do anything," he said. "I doubt he will do anything. It's unlikely," Subaru stated with a bitter twist of his lips, "that Seishirou would ever do anything so inconvenient as travel to Morioka for the sake of the Seven Angels.  
  
"He's probably following me. Apparently I've become interesting again."  
  
Kamui nodded silently, then smiled. "Still," he said. "We should probably try to avoid problems, and get back to Tokyo as soon as we can. We have enough troubles there, without spreading them throughout the rest of Japan."  
  
The Sumeragi raised his eyebrows. It was a surprising reaction from the leader of the Seven Seals, and showed a depth and maturity that was incredibly rare in a fifteen-year-old.  
  
But Kamui had had to grow up quickly in his life, and even more quickly in the past few months. He had had to make decisions that would have killed men twice his age.  
  
It was easy to forget, sometimes, that Shirou Kamui was the furthest thing from "normal" as a teenager could get.  
  
"We should be able to leave around ten," Subaru answered. 'From what I was told tonight, the job won't take very long at all."  
  
"That's good," said Kamui. He smiled, and the curl of his lips was a trifle wicked. "But I'm sure Imonoyama-san will be disappointed."  
  
Subaru shook his head bemusedly. "Perhaps," he said. "Then again, he might just take it as a challenge."  
  
Kamui snorted softly, and pulled himself to his feet. "That's quite possible." He smiled again, and this time, it was gentle, and almost sweet. "Goodnight, Subaru-san," he said.  
  
"Goodnight, Kamui," said Subaru, before sliding the door shut, closing Kamui out of his room.  
  
Kamui stood for a moment, gazing at the closed door, before turning around.  
  
Directly across from Subaru's room was another door, this one leading to a garden. He could feel a familiar presence there.  
  
"I wonder," he murmured, as he walked across to the partially opened door, "what it is you think you will accomplish, Sakurazuka-san. Whatever it is, I will make sure you fail. Subaru deserves a measure of peace.  
  
"And you will not prevent him from getting it."  
  
A hawk screamed in the night, and Shirou Kamui smiled out into the darkness.  
  
His violet eyes were like pools of ice. 


End file.
